More than one hundred million years ago during the Nevadan orogeny, granite formed deep underground. The range started to uplift four million years ago, and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range. The uplift caused a wide range of elevations and climates in the Sierra Nevada, which are reflected by the presence of five life zones (areas with similar plant and animal communities). Uplift continues due to faulting caused by tectonic forces, creating spectacular fault blockescarpments along the eastern edge of the southern Sierra.

The Sierra Nevada has a significant history. The California Gold Rush occurred in the western foothills from 1848 through 1855. Due to inaccessibility, the range was not fully explored until 1912.[7]:81

The Sierra Nevada lies primarily in central and eastern California, with the Carson Range, a small but historically important spur, extending into Nevada. West-to-east, the Sierra Nevada's elevation increases gradually from 500 feet (150 m) in the Central Valley[13] to more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) atop the highest peaks of its crest 50–75 miles (80–121 km) to the east. The east slope forms the steep Sierra Escarpment. Unlike its surroundings, the range receives a substantial amount of snowfall and precipitation due to orographic lift.

Physiographically, the Sierra is a section of the Cascade–Sierra Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. The California Geological Survey states that "the northern Sierra boundary is marked where bedrock disappears under the Cenozoic volcanic cover of the Cascade Range."[17]

Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the range and the contiguous United States

The height of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada increases gradually from north to south. Between Fredonyer Pass and Lake Tahoe, the peaks range from 5,000 feet (1,500 m) to more than 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The crest near Lake Tahoe is roughly 9,000 feet (2,700 m) high, with several peaks approaching the height of Freel Peak (10,881 ft or 3,317 m). Farther south, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park is Mount Lyell (13,120 ft or 3,999 m). The Sierra rises to almost 14,000 feet (4,300 m) with Mount Humphreys near Bishop, California. Finally, near Lone Pine, Mount Whitney is at 14,505 feet (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States.

South of Mount Whitney, the elevation of the range quickly dwindles. The crest elevation is almost 10,000 feet (3,000 m) near Lake Isabella, but south of the lake, the peaks reach only a modest 8,000 feet (2,400 m).[18]

Lake Tahoe is a large, clear freshwater lake in the northern Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 6,225 ft (1,897 m) and an area of 191 sq mi (490 km2).[19] Lake Tahoe lies between the main Sierra and the Carson Range, a spur of the Sierra.[19]

The United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management currently control 52% of the land in the Sierra Nevada.[4] Logging and grazing are generally allowed on land controlled by these agencies, under federal regulations that balance recreation and development on the land.

The California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area near Mount Williamson in the southern Sierra was established to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. Starting in 1981, hikers were unable to enter the Area from May 15 through December 15, in order to protect the sheep. As of 2010, the restriction has been lifted and access to the Area is open for the whole year.[22]

In the Cretaceous, a subduction zone formed at the edge of the continent.[27] This means that an oceanic plate started to dive beneath the North American plate. Magma formed through the subduction of the ancient Farallon Plate rose in plumes (plutons) deep underground, their combined mass forming what is called the Sierra Nevada batholith. These plutons formed at various times, from 115 Ma to 87 Ma.[28] The earlier plutons formed in the western half of the Sierra, while the later plutons formed in the eastern half of the Sierra.[25] By 66 Ma, the proto-Sierra Nevada had been worn down to a range of rolling low mountains, a few thousand feet high.

Twenty million years ago, crustal extension associated with the Basin and Range Province caused extensive volcanism in the Sierra.[29] About 10 Ma, the Sierra Nevada started to form when a block of crust between the Coast Range and the Basin and Range Province started to tilt to the west[30] as heat from the Basin and Range extension thinned the eastern part of the block, making it more buoyant than the western portion of the block. Rivers started cutting deep canyons on both sides of the range. Lava filled some of these canyons, which have subsequently eroded leaving table mountains that follow the old river channels.[31]

About 2.5 Ma, the Earth's climate cooled, and ice ages started. Glaciers carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout the Sierra. The combination of river and glacier erosion exposed the uppermost portions of the plutons emplaced millions of years before, leaving only a remnant of metamorphic rock on top of some Sierra peaks.

Uplift of the Sierra Nevada continues today, especially along its eastern side. This uplift causes large earthquakes, such as the Lone Pine earthquake of 1872.[32]

The climate of the Sierra Nevada is influenced by the Mediterranean climate of California. During the fall, winter and spring, precipitation in the Sierra ranges from 20 to 80 in (510 to 2,030 mm) where it occurs mostly as snow above 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Precipitation is highest on the central and northern portions of the western slope between 5,000 and 8,000 feet (1,500 and 2,400 m) elevation, due to orographic lift.[28]:69 Above 8,000 feet (2,400 m), precipitation diminishes on the western slope up to the crest, since most of the precipitation has been wrung out at lower elevations. Most parts of the range east of the crest are in a rain shadow, and receive less than 25 inches of precipitation per year.[33] While most summer days are dry, afternoon thunderstorms are common, particularly during the North American Monsoon in mid and late summer. Some of these summer thunderstorms drop over an inch of rain in a short period, and the lightning can start fires. Summer high temperatures average 42–90 °F (6–32 °C). Winters are comparatively mild, and the temperature is usually only just low enough to sustain a heavy snowpack. For example, Tuolumne Meadows, at 8,600 feet (2,600 m) elevation, has winter daily highs about 40 °F (4 °C) with daily lows about 10 °F (−12 °C).[34] The growing season lasts 20 to 230 days, strongly dependent on elevation.[13] The highest elevations of the Sierra have an alpine climate.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is the major source of water and a significant source of electric power generation in California.[35] Many reservoirs were constructed in the canyons of the Sierra throughout the 20th century, Several major aqueducts serving both agriculture and urban areas distribute Sierra water throughout the state. However, the Sierra casts a rain shadow, which greatly affects the climate and ecology of the central Great Basin. This rain shadow is largely responsible for Nevada being the driest state in the United States.[36]

Precipitation varies substantially from year to year. It is not uncommon for some years to receive precipitation totals far above or below normal.

The height of the range and the steepness of the Sierra Escarpment, particularly at the southern end of the range, produces a wind phenomenon known as the "Sierra Rotor". This is a horizontal rotation of the atmosphere just east of the crest of the Sierra, set in motion as an effect of strong westerly winds.[37]

The Sierra Nevada is divided into a number of biotic zones, each of which is defined by its climate and supports a number of interdependent species.[28] Life in the higher elevation zones adapted to colder weather, and to most of the precipitation falling as snow. The rain shadow of the Sierra causes the eastern slope to be warmer and drier: each life zone is higher in the east.[28] A list of biotic zones, and corresponding elevations, is presented below:

Archaeological excavations placed Martis people of Paleo-Indians in northcentral Sierra Nevada during the period of 3,000 BCE to 500 CE. The earliest identified sustaining indigenous people in the Sierra Nevada were the Northern Paiute tribes on the east side, with the Mono tribe and Sierra Miwok tribe on the western side, and the Kawaiisu and Tübatulabal tribes in the southern Sierra. Today, some historic intertribal trade route trails over mountain passes are known artifact locations, such as Duck Pass with its obsidianarrowheads. The California and Sierra Native American tribes were predominantly peaceful, with occasional territorial disputes between the Paiute and Sierra Miwok tribes in the mountains.[42]Washo and Maidu were also in this area prior to the era of European exploration and displacement.[43][44]

American exploration of the mountain range started in 1827. Although prior to the 1820s there were Spanish missions, pueblos (towns), presidios (forts), and ranchos along the coast of California, no Spanish explorers visited the Sierra Nevada.[45] The first Americans to visit the mountains were amongst a group led by fur trapper Jedediah Smith, crossing north of the Yosemite area in May 1827, at Ebbetts Pass.[45]

The California Gold Rush began at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma, in the western foothills of the Sierra.[49] On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, a foreman working for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter, found shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter on the American River.[50] Rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan. Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"[50]

On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to Congress.[51]:80 Soon, waves of immigrants from around the world, later called the "forty-niners", invaded the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode". Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships.[52] Wherever gold was discovered, hundreds of miners would collaborate to put up a camp and stake their claims.

Because the gold in the California gravel beds was so richly concentrated, the early forty-niners simply panned for gold in California's rivers and streams.[53]:198–200 However, panning cannot take place on a large scale, and miners and groups of miners graduated to more complex placer mining. Groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom.[54]:90

By 1853, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations. Hydraulic mining was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds on hillsides and bluffs in the gold fields.[51]:89 In hydraulic mining, a high-pressure hose directed a powerful stream or jet of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. It is estimated that by the mid-1880s, 11 million ounces (340 t) of gold (worth approximately US$15 billion at December 2010 prices) had been recovered by "hydraulicking".[55] A byproduct of these extraction methods was that large amounts of gravel, silt, heavy metals, and other pollutants went into streams and rivers.[54]:32–36 As of 1999[update], many areas still bear the scars of hydraulic mining, since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits do not support plant life.[54]:116–121

It is estimated that by 1855, at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world.[51]:25 The huge numbers of newcomers brought by the Gold Rush drove Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking the miners, provoking counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered.[54]

The tourism potential of the Sierra Nevada was recognized early in the European history of the range.
Yosemite Valley was first protected by the federal government in 1864. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded to California in 1866 and turned into a state park.[46] John Muir perceived overgrazing by sheep and logging of giant sequoia to be a problem in the Sierra. Muir successfully lobbied for the protection of the rest of Yosemite National Park: Congress created an Act to protect the park in 1890. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were added to the Park in 1906.[46] In the same year, Sequoia National Park was formed to protect the Giant Sequoia: all logging of the Sequoia ceased at that time.

Between 1912 and 1918, Congress debated three times to protect Lake Tahoe in a national park. None of these efforts succeeded, and after World War II, towns such as South Lake Tahoe grew around the shores of the lake. By 1980, the permanent population of the Lake Tahoe area grew to 50,000, while the summer population grew to 90,000.[61] The development around Lake Tahoe affected the clarity of the lake water. In order to preserve the lake's clarity, construction in the Tahoe basin is currently regulated by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.[62]

As the 20th century progressed, more of the Sierra became available for recreation; other forms of economic activity decreased. The John Muir Trail, a trail that followed the Sierra crest from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney, was funded in 1915 and finished in 1938.[63]Kings Canyon National Park was formed in 1940 to protect the deep canyon of the Kings River.

By 1964, the Wilderness Act protected portions of the Sierra as primitive areas where humans are simply temporary visitors. Gradually, 20 wilderness areas were established to protect scenic backcountry of the Sierra. These wilderness areas include the John Muir Wilderness (protecting the eastern slope of the Sierra and the area between Yosemite and Kings Canyon Parks), and wilderness within each of the National Parks. Because of the Wilderness Act and the rocky terrain in the area, plans to construct two trans-Sierra highways across this portion of the Sierra Escarpment, State Route 168[64] and State Route 190,[65] were abandoned; the two highways each remain split as discontiguous segments on either side of the Sierra.

The Sierra Nevada still faces a number of issues that threaten its conservation. Logging occurs on both private and public lands, including controversial clearcut methods and thinning logging on private and public lands.[66] Grazing occurs on private lands as well as on National Forest lands, which include Wilderness areas. Overgrazing can alter hydrologic processes and vegetation composition, remove vegetation that serves as food and habitat for native species, and contribute to sedimentation and pollution in waterways.[67] A recent increase in large wildfires like the Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest and the King Fire on the Eldorado National Forest, has prompted concerns.[66] A 2015 study indicated that the increase in fire risk in California may be attributable to human-induced climate change.[68] A study looking back over 8,000 years found that warmer climate periods experienced severe droughts and more stand-replacing fires and concluded that as climate is such a powerful influence on wildfires, trying to recreate presettlement forest structure is likely impossible in a warmer future.[69]

^"1872 Lone Pine Earthquake". Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2010. Few people ever see a mountain range grow, but on March 26, 1872, the 300 residents of Lone Pine, California, did.